4 886 
of solder at the bottom so that the water 
can flow under as well as around them. The 
handles are made of copper wire. The cans 
cost 75 cents each. m. e. l. 
Putman Co., W. Va. 
-• •» ♦ 
ANOTHER IN FAVOR OF THE GENERAL-PUR¬ 
POSE COW. 
I want to vote in favor of the “general- 
purpose” cow. Such au animal is not only 
possible, but profitable. I have never seen 
anything that came nearer such an animal 
than good Short-horn or Holstein grades. A 
cross of a thoroughbred bull on our common 
cows gives an animal that is hard to beat 
when you take cheapness, hardiness and gen¬ 
eral worth into consideration. People who 
advise farmers to keep nothiug but thorough¬ 
bred stock do not tell the whole story. We 
have to get down to the intrinsic value of 
cattle. We have no time to raise pedigreed 
stock and but little money for advertising. It 
will be hard to find thoroughbred cows that 
can turn more food into milk and butter than 
my grades can. c. p. s. 
Essex Co., Mass. 
FASTENING FOR STANCHION. 
Mr. William Petrie sends us a sketch of a 
stanchion-fastener which is in use among his 
neighbors. We show it at Fig. 3(54. It is 
A* A '-X 
Fig. 364. 
made of jig-inch irou and attached to the 
stanchion by means of two staples. These 
staples are just large enough for the fastener 
to play in. It will be seen that the end of the 
iron is turned up, so that when the upper part 
of the stauchiou strikes against it, it rises and 
falls again of its own weight. It can be easily 
raised to liberate the cows and will hold them 
securely. Any blacksmith should be able to 
make them. 
In Montgomery County, New York, there 
has been some alarm among farmers for fear 
“black-leg" hail broken out among the cattle. 
The cattle got lame; then the legs swelled and 
at last became covered with sores. This is a 
good description of the effects of mud poison, 
ing which is sure to follow if cattle are obliged 
to wade into mud holes or ponds to get water. 
The beds of creeks aud drinking places, where 
the mud has accumulated, and all pond holes 
from which the water has dried out will poison 
tho feet of cattle and also the skin on the legs. 
The soreness will begin between the toes, and 
this will cause lameness without any discern¬ 
ible cause, and thou the more tender skin on 
the hind part of tho legs will crack, and with 
the irritation of tho flics aud the mud a rapid 
inflammation follows, aud the log swells ami 
now becomes hot and feverish aud swells 
badly. 
Cattle will seek these moist and cool places 
to stand in when not thirsty. In the early 
stages of the trouble, washing the feet clean 
and greasing between the hoofs will cure, aud 
the same treatment "'ill also heal the legs; but 
when the tuflainmation becomes severe the ani¬ 
mal should have regular doses of Epsom salts 
daily, and be kept in a dark stable, or the legs 
should be bound up to keep the flies away, 
aud washed daily with a weak solution of car¬ 
bolic acid, and bo well smeared with sal tin l 
grease. In droughts when water is scarce is 
tho favorable time for mud poisoning. 
F. D. c. 
ijorscniun. 
THE HORSE UNDER A CATARRH. 
Horses that have been in moderate service 
during the hot weather, especially if they 
have been well fed, are generally in that con¬ 
dition termed “soft,” and as the fall weather 
comes on with its customary cold winds,horses 
are very liable to contract catarrh, from be¬ 
ing driven till a little fatigued or till the skin 
is giving off moisture freely. When evil 
effects follow, these come in one of two ways, 
or may come from the two combined; namely, 
from a chill upon the relaxed surface, send¬ 
ing the blood inward upon the delicate lining 
of the air passage, resulting in congestion and 
followed by inflammation, and constituting 
catarrh of the air passage; or it may, and 
sometimes is caused by the cold current of 
air entering the lungs, acting directly as an 
irritant upon the delicate mucous lining. 
When the horse has contracted catarrh, 
what is it, and what may it lead to? It is 
simply an inflammation of the mucous lining 
of the nasal cavities; or at least this may con¬ 
stitute a catarrh in itself sufficient to cause a 
degree of fever, perhaps raising the pulse 
from its natural beat of about 40 per minute, 
to 50 or 55, Iu such a case, a careful observa¬ 
tion of the respiration will show this is quick¬ 
ened; the nostrils will he seen to be red and 
expanded on expiration, and the flanks will 
be drawn in, and will be pushed out a little 
more than ordinarily. Now this breathing 
keeps tally with the pulse and the tempera¬ 
ture, the latter being quickly seen if the ther¬ 
mometer be brought into requisition. 
Catarrh means more than this. It may fix 
itself upon the deeper-seated air passages, and 
then we have bronchitis—pneumonia may not 
lie far off. The owner, after having driven 
sharply against a cold wind; or, having 
warmed, his horse to the free-sweating stage, 
then permitted him to stand in a cold current 
long enough to give time for the animal to 
cool off, will act wisely in watching the horse’s 
movements carefully. If. on continuing his 
drive, he observes now and then that the ani. 
mal slackens his puce, moving with less spirit 
than is his custom, and especially if ou driv- • 
ing to the stopping place aud unchecking him' 
lie at once drops his head low down,alternately 
partially elevating and putting it down again, 
he had better put him in a warm place at once, 
try his temperature and pulse, aud if these are 
going up, he can readily detect this, and the 
quickened respiration will be additional proof 
if any is needed. In such a state the horse 
will leave his food, stand as though under some 
distress, aud many a valuable horse is lost for 
the want of a little skillful attention at this 
particular juncture. 
What to do? Buckle a woolen blauket 
around him, and in place of drenching him 
with physic—salts or any other thing—as many 
would advise, simply give him the tiucture of 
aconite root, teu to fifteen drops each half 
hour in a little water, the dose to bo large or 
small, as the heat and pulse are high, or the 
opposite. Watch the pulse, aud as you observe 
that it is diminishing iu frequency,graduate* the 
dose accordingly. Keep the heat down for a few 
hours, or a day aud night, aud a threatened 
serious trouble may lie averted—namely, 
pneumonia or bronchitis. western. 
e!)c Sunndjcr'ix 
PIG ATTENTIONS. 
COL. F. D. CURTIS. 
The most trying time for pigs is when 
their mother’s milk is not sufficient to satisfy 
their growing wants and when they are old 
enough to eat grain anil assimilate it well. 
A very young pig needs milk, and nothing 
agrees with it so well as that of its own kind. 
After it has sucked its mother a few days, or 
even a few times, it can be made to live on 
cow’s milk; but it must not lie foil over a few 
teaspoout'uls at a time or it will have colic 
and die; and if it does not. die, it will be a 
poddy aud forlorn-look ing thing. 
The same is true when fed grain while it is 
young. It will get a’big stomach, and be hol¬ 
low in the back and grow out of shape. Pigs 
will begin to eat grain when three weeks old, 
and at first a few kernels are all they should 
have at a time.. Com is good, but oats are bet¬ 
ter. The very best meal is fine wheat mid¬ 
dlings. and they should be well mixed and not 
diluted, so thafcit will take a considerable bulk 
of swill to satisfy their hunger. Bulk or stuffi¬ 
ness will make big, bulging stomachs and 
give pigs a miserable appearance. Where 
there is plenty of cow’s milk for pigs all this 
particularity is not necessary, as they will do 
well on the milk with a little middlings mixed 
in, or on the milk alone. It is well to feed a 
little corn or oats together with the middlings, 
but it should be given between times. Pigs 
will always do better when allowed to run in 
the grass, as they will eat more or less, and it 
has a laxative and cooling effect. 
It is always an injury to pigs to compel 
them to squeeze through holes under the fence 
or in any place. It tends to make them hol¬ 
low in the back, and it hurts their stomachs 
and will often make them sore in the sheath on 
account of it being bruised on the ground. 
The trough should always be set iu a clean 
place, and be kept clean. It should be just 
high enough so that the pigs cqp reach into it 
without bumping up their backs, or being 
obliged to put their feet in. Pig feeding of 
this sort isn’t profitable. When confined in a 
pen the pigs should have some fresh grass or 
weeds every day, and a liberal bedding. 
Weeds are made for pigs to eat and convert 
into manure, and a farmer who wants to turn 
things to the best account will keep his hogs 
supplied and so utilize them in the best man¬ 
ner. 
The bedding is important to euable the pigs 
to lie more comfortably and to afford rest to 
their feet and legs after standing on the hard 
floor. This is one item iu pig attentions 
which must uot be omitted, or there will be 
stiffness or falling away in condition. It is 
not essential to sour the food of young pigs as 
of old ones. As the bulk is so much less iu the 
stomach, there is less fermentation and flat¬ 
ulency. When large quantities of meal or 
middlings are continued, the work of fermenta¬ 
tion should not all be left to be done in the 
stomach. The softening also helps digestion. 
It is better to have the pigs iu small bunches, 
not more than 10 iu a pen, or 20 iu a field. 
ALTERATION OF NAME. 
There are in England no longer Large, Mid¬ 
dle aud Small Yorkshire White breeds of 
swine. The word Yorkshire lias been dropped, 
aud it is not unlikely the Large and Small 
White breeds will sum be dropped also. These, 
though the original breeds, arc fast losing 
ground in public favor. The former is con¬ 
sidered too largo and course, the latter too 
Small and stunted to please the general buyer. 
The number of Large and Small Whites 
at the public shows has lately fallen off, and 
less care is noticeable in their breeding. The 
Middle White is fast eclipsing the two other 
breeds by the crossing of which it was pro¬ 
duced. By this crossing greater size lias been 
obtained on the one hand, and a better quality 
of flesh ou the other. The reason assigned for 
dropping the name Yorkshire is that these 
breeds have been continually crossed with 
Suffolks and other white breeds, which, what¬ 
ever their merits ami pedigrees, were uot in 
any way allied to the Yorkshire. 
(Tl)c Poulivu Dari). 
CHICKS DYING IN SUMMER AND FALL. 
It has been noticed by some that while early- 
hatched chicks have made good growth, with 
but little care, tho late chicks begin to die 
when about two weeks old. The natural sup¬ 
position is that the trouble is caused by lice, 
which is true iu many cases; but there have 
been instances in which even the best of care, 
with freedom from lice, did not save the chicks 
Those batched under hens are not safe, but as 
the broods in the brooders are larger in num¬ 
ber. and receive the direct attention of the 
poultry man, the trouble there is more particu¬ 
larly noticed. 
To ge r at the root of the difficulty it may be 
stated that chicks hatched at either too low or 
too high a temperature will come weak, and 
though this fluctuation is often a fault of some 
incubators, the same may be said for the hen. 
Some hens do not generate sufficient heat, 
while others, when very fat, keep the eggs too 
w arm in Summer. When the chick is hatched 
under these disadvantages, the yelk is not suffic¬ 
iently absorbed, and though the chick may 
pas-, over the riifficulty yet it is liable to suc¬ 
cumb whenever the conditions in the brooder 
are unfavorable. One of the principal causes 
of failure is that because the weather is warm 
the chicks are not given sufficient warmth, 
while those with hens are dragged about and 
fatigued by the dam’s following the strong and 
lively chicks from place to place. Even in the 
wannest days of August young chicks require 
warmth in the brooders, which may be ob¬ 
served by their crowding together. If heat be 
lacking (and they only want a little) the result 
will be cold on the bowels, and death is attri. 
bated to constipation. No mode of feeding 
will save chicks, affected in this way. They 
become droopy, refuse to eat. and die. It is 
sale, however, always to look carefully for 
lice, as the vermin work when unseen. 
Another point frequently overlooked, is that 
w*hen tho cocks aud hens are moulting they are 
debilitated, which accounts for the failure of 
eggs to hatch, and even when there is a limited 
number of chicks from eggs in the Fall, the 
debility is passed to the young, aud they come 
into the world enfeebled and lacking in vigor. 
As insect food is usually plentiful, but little 
meat is fed to the chicks, which is a mistake. 
At least three times a weak chopped meat 
should be given the adults anil chicks. All 
birds, even those that feed exclusively on grain, 
provide animal food for their young”until fully 
feathered, and if this rute was observed in the 
case of chicks they would make better progress 
and the Toss would be smaller. 
Keep the chicks warm and dry, even in the 
Summer and Fall; give animal food; provide 
water in a manner to prevent them from get¬ 
ting wet, and avoid dampness. In using eggs 
for hatching, put a cockerel of last Spring’s 
(earlvl hatch with two-year-old hens, remov¬ 
ing the old cocks, and there will be a larger 
percentage of chicks. The early spring broil¬ 
ers should be hatched from November to 
March. p. h, Jacobs. 
BREEDING WYANDOTTES. 
I beg to di ffer f rom J. H. G. .in a late Rural, 
as to the above breed losiug its popularity. 1 
rind Wyandottes are growing in favor con¬ 
tinually. I know not what luck people in gen¬ 
eral have had in hatching chickens from eggs 
purchased at a round price. I buy uone but 
nigh-priced eggs to renew the blood for breed- 
iug purposes: but I do not always get the best- 
marked birds. In April I bought one setting 
fur So; result, three chicks. I notified the 
breeder of the hatch aud sent *5 more aud re¬ 
ceived 115 eggs, from which I hatched eight 
chicks. I have raised seven of them. They 
cost ou leaving the shell 61 each. They are 
nearly all good breeding binls. I would uot sell 
them now for 83 each, or take ISO for the lot. 
I next sent to a dealer 8S for eggs from his 
best stock. I received 16 eggs and hatched 
ei_ht chicks. One died, leaving seven for 
eight dollars. There does not appear to be a 
prime bird among the lot. I have much bet¬ 
ter from my own stock. So much for costly 
eggs. 
The eggs I have sold this season from the 
best pens cost 83 for 13; from the other pens, 
82 for 13. 1 have had no complaiut of lack of 
fertility: nor have I heard of a setting bring¬ 
ing less than right, chicks except where a cus¬ 
tomer notified me that a hen had left her uest 
ami spoiled all of them. 
•J. 11. G. cannot Ik* a novice from his style 
of writing, but from some statements con¬ 
tained in the article I must conclude he did 
did not pay |5 for his setting of eggs ; they 
must have been eggs sold at a very low figure. 
No careful breeder will sell eggs from thor¬ 
oughbred stock which will produce such bad 
results i have heard of only two white (Al¬ 
bino) Wyandottes hatched from all the eggs 
sold by me this season. True, they have not 
yet been bred according to the standard for a 
sufficient time to perfect the breed ; but 
ni usteen-twentictlis should, breed true to color. 
I have, on an average, nu t with as good suc¬ 
cess in hatching and markings from eggs 
sold ut 62 to 83 per setting as from those 
bought, from so-called first-class breeders. On 
oue occasion I bought from u noted strain 
three settings that cost me 8lo, each setting 
being marked as from separate peus. Two 
settings bought IS chicks, one setting nothing. 
All were batched in the same incubator at the 
same time. Not one of the chicks would score 
above 85 points, while many chicks from mv 
83 eggs scored from 90 to 93 points. It no 
doubt often happens that high-priced eggs are 
rent from second aud third quality mating 
birds. 
Eggs from good birds are sold by many 
breeders at $3, aud even $2 per setting ; blit 
all the eggs at these figures are not from good 
birds, and eggs ar 85 per setting do not in 
many cases give satisfaction, but iu nil cases 
Wyandottes should show their origin, except 
uu occasional Albino. They have come to re¬ 
main, aud even if irresponsible parties oc¬ 
casionally sell a mixture of eggs for pure¬ 
bred. they are nevertheless bound to grow in 
public favor. WYANDOTTE. 
